So, I thought I would post about how I use YouTube to help with my class lessons.

Many of the songs, well most of the songs, we are doing in class, I have never heard of. It is hard for me to figure out a song if I have no idea what it is supposed to sound like. I do have the solution. Some I have heard before, but never knew the title, so until I hear it as it should be, I have no clue that I know it. I am not that into Classical music and have no idea what the songs are.

In the Cello Lessons Links Index I created, Cello Lesson Links, I have a section for people who have lesson or song videos. These videos are so helpful.

What I am doing is Googling the titles of the songs currently being worked on for YouTubes entries on the net. My favorite YouTuber is Cellopedia, there is a link in the index. I watch and listen to the video to hear what the song actually sounds like. The current one is, Minuets from the Suite in G major, BWV 1007, from Suzuki Book 4. Cellopedia plays these two minuets slow. It turns out the first one sounds like the music at the beginning of Masterpiece Theater, I kind of think it is Masterpiece Theater, as much as I think it is, I also think the first minuet is from something else. I know I have heard it often somewhere. But, for some reason Alistair Cooke seems to come to mind. No matter.

This helps me be able to understand the rhythm. Since the fingering is sometimes different than what my instructor recommends or suggests, I do not pay that much attention to the fingering in some of the videos. If I cannot seem to find a note on the string to be used, I will watch where the finger is placed to help me find it, doing a lot of shifting now. Normally, I don’t need that assistance any longer, but one song for the next lesson did require it.

I wanted to keep this post short, never seems to happen, but, I want to explain how the videos not only help with the rhythm and timing, but with some clefs.

We are getting into tenor clef. That is new to me. I was to translate the tenor clef staff to their respective notes on the song we are doing. ie The lines on the tenor clef staff represent different notes than the bass clef. I had to write the note above the staff so I would know what note it is, and connect the dots. For instance the third line (from the bottom on the tenor clef) is the A. That third line in bass clef would be a D. The A would be the top line on the bass clef. So, above the staff and above that note on that third string I wrote an A. That is what I was to do. It really helped me learn tenor clef. I won’t give a lesson on how to figure it out, that is not the point of this post.

I posted a link to Cellopedia playing, Chanson Triste, written in tenor clef, in my post Most Beautiful Cello Song a few days ago.

For some reason, after I wrote the notes in caps above the notes on the sheet music, I had a mental block. I could not figure out how to do it on the cello! I found Cellopedia’s YouTube of it and it was so simple. A “Duh!” moment.

So, if you are working on a song, albeit, Violin, Viola or Cello, search the internet for a YouTube version. If it is from a specific Suzuki book, Google, Suzuki (instrument) Book (number) (name of the song). You will get hits for that song as written in that Suzuki book. If you are doing cello and Cellopedia has one, check his out first. You will also find it played by Prof Laszlo Mezo. He is also good, and does it many times in his video in different formats (with metronome, piano, no accompaniment). He did not do as good of a job as Cellopedia with that most beautiful cello song I shared the video of. Prof Mezo did it too fast, his cello was too bright, and he had no emotion in it. He played it like he did Humoresque. Just something to look for when selecting the best YouTube to use to assist you.